Here is a US census table (2004 data) giving the percentage of American households who own various appliances. 99% own a refrigerator, 96% a microwave and so on.
Inequality is a serious issue, and I'll come back to it. Maybe inequality is much of the reason behind people striving so hard to earn more, as the rewards are disproportionately higher if you achieve one of the top positions in the career ladder.
But that is a different issue than absolute need. At least in the US we have solved the economic struggle for subsistence.
Not that it feels like it with consumer confidence plunging and markets so volatile. People get habituated very quickly to a certain level of material affluence. And they often get over their heads in debt to do it.
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